From Dream to Sanctuary – The Story of SORA

Sora. In Japanese, it means open sky — a word that suggests lightness, clarity, and horizon. In Ardooie, Belgium, that word has been given a physical form: SORA, a private sanctuary where silence, massage, and natural elements create a rare kind of stillness.

For years, one of the founders had been offering massage privately, a practice rooted in presence and slowness. But the move to Ardooie shifted the scale of possibility. Surrounded by trees, fields, and an ever-changing sky, the question emerged: what if this landscape became part of the therapy? What if wellness was not confined to a single room, but unfolded across an environment where inside and outside flowed into one another?

SORA was born from a passion for massage and the wish to create a space where time slows down. The founders dreamed of more than a wellness stop – they wanted to create an experience of stillness. Inspired by visits to wellness retreats abroad, they worked step by step with trusted partners, and gradually, the vision for SORA began to take shape.

Every element at SORA has been chosen with care. Light is softened, wood carries its natural warmth, and silence is treated as a companion. Treatments here are not only for the body but for the mind, unfolding at a pace that feels unhurried. Outside, two wooden forms anchor the retreat: an Iglucraft sauna and hot tub.

The founders first discovered Iglucraft through friends who had one of their saunas, and the impression was immediate. “It was beautifully made,” they recall. “Entirely in wood, with a purity we were searching for. Something that felt timeless, simple, and quietly grounded.”

The sauna rests at the edge of a forest clearing, framed by tall trees whose branches shift with the light and the seasons. Inside, the air is warm, pressing gently against the skin, easing tension while leaving the mind spacious. Nearby, the hot tub opens to the sky, its wooden surface reflecting clouds or stars, while rain, wind, and birdsong become part of the immersion. The contrast between the enclosed heat of the sauna and the open-air intimacy of the tub transforms each visit into a complete sensory journey, extending the calm of a massage into something broader, almost elemental.

The audience is diverse, but united by a search for rest. Most are professionals in their 30s to 50s, people who carry full calendars and arrive at SORA with the weight of noise. Some book a massage and sauna together, others choose a half-day retreat. Whatever they choose, one thing stays the same: they leave feeling restored.

SORA is a private sanctuary where sky and ground meet, and where time, for a few hours, is given back. https://sora.be/